


Life Lesson

by Minunlike



Category: Puyo Puyo
Genre: Kinda, M/M, Slice of Life, and awkward but well-meaning relationships, slice of magic life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-09-07 20:33:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8815387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minunlike/pseuds/Minunlike
Summary: Klug takes it upon himself to help Sig learn the material he needs for class, and ends up learning a few new things himself.





	

**Author's Note:**

> this fandom is SO DRY when it comes to fanfic and I think that's a real shame!! so I attempted to write some myself, and naturally it involved my favorite pairing in the series...
> 
> this story contains a lot of personal headcanons of mine for Sig, which obviously should not be taken as canon.
> 
> Sorry this got longer than I intended!! but I hope you can enjoy it!!

Klug was less than pleased when he learned that he'd been chosen to tutor his classmate Sig.

Not that it surprised him in the slightest. Being the top student in Ms. Accord's magic class meant that it often fell to him to tutor other students who were slacking academically. He had to admit, it made him feel proud that his teachers trusted him with such a difficult and important responsibility.

It made him feel proud, but that didn't necessarily mean he _enjoyed_ doing it.

Sig, in particular, was the kind of person he dreaded teaching. The boy was, to put it bluntly, a _horrible_ student. His handwriting was abysmal, his spelling was _atrocious_ , and he struggled to retain even the simplest lessons. (Well... simple in Klug's mind, at least.)

But that was fine... if anyone could turn a horrible student around, it was Klug.

But...

"Mmmm... Nope... Sorry, I don't get it."

It would be a long and arduous challenge for both of them.

"I've explained it to you _three times_ already! What's not to get?"

Klug sighed heavily and plopped his head on the table. They'd been going over the same basic lesson for almost two hours now, and they hadn't made any more progress than before they started.

"Okay, first, you arrange the Puyo like this, got it?" Klug sat up and began to demonstrate the proper procedure yet again. "Next, start reciting the spell you want to cast and set off the chain. Keep your thoughts focused on that spell until the chain is finished, and then... Sig, are you listening? _Pay attention_!"

Sig had zoned out of the lesson again, focusing instead on a ladybug that had been crawling across the table. He jumped and looked back up as Klug harshly addressed him.

"Eh...? Ah, sorry... I was just watching this little guy..."

He picked the tiny insect up with surprising delicacy, and held it out to show his classmate.

"Look at him, Glasses... isn't he cute?"

Klug stared at the little creature for only a short moment, then sighed again and rubbed his temples.

"Yeah, I guess... now can we get back to the lesson?"

Reluctantly, Sig let the ladybug go, but even after Klug tried to bring their attention back to the lesson, he could see that the other boy wasn't truly focused at all.

That was how their tutoring sessions always seemed to go... No matter how he tried, Klug just could not seem to get the spacey boy to focus on learning. More often than not, he felt as though their meetings were ultimately nothing more than a glorified waste of time, and he began to wonder why he even bothered at all.

However, there _was_ one thing he could gain from this. Sig was the only half-demon in their entire school, and indeed, the only half-demon Klug had ever met or even heard of outside of textbooks. There were almost no written records of people like him, and Klug figured that if he couldn't get Sig to learn anything, he could at least turn this into a learning experience for himself.

So he started keeping his own little scientific research journal. Whenever the two of them got together for their extracurricular lessons, Klug would watch Sig and observe him, and later record all of the tiny peculiarities he noticed that separated Sig from normal human beings. Surely the boy wouldn't mind, and one could only imagine how valuable this study might be to the scientific and magical communities of the future.

As he went about this research, he began to amass a fair amount of interesting data.

_「*The tufts of hair on his head begin twitching erratically whenever he gets excited, though it appears that he can also move them of his own accord. Whether they serve some purpose or are merely for decoration remains to be seen.」_

_「*His left hand appears to be his dominant hand, and it is considerably stronger than his right in terms of both physical and magical power. It seems he isn't aware of the difference, as he has broken several of my pencils trying to write left-handed.」_

_「*His general senses of touch and taste seem to be significantly dulled compared to those of average human beings, and his threshold for pain is much higher. A natural consequence of this is that he has a much slower reaction time, almost on par with a human who is legally intoxicated.」_

However, while this research made for an engaging side project, it did little to remedy the problem at hand...

"Are you _kidding_ me!?"

Sig looked shamefully off to the side as Klug read over the results of his latest test, which was riddled with check marks and had a large, red "35%" written at the top in Ms. Accord's neat, curly handwriting.

"Sorry... I couldn't remember all the stuff..."

"We spent five hours going over these _exact_ questions!" Klug was doing his best not to yell out of frustration, no matter how strong the temptation was. "Is your memory actually _that bad_?"

Though Sig's overall demeanor remained stoic as ever, the guilt in his expression was obvious.

"Sorry... I'm just not good at learning like Glasses is... My head can't hold all those big words and numbers in it like yours can..."

Klug let out a long sigh and willed himself to calm down. He had to remember that it wasn't Sig he was angry at, only his lack of progress. Honestly, aside from his lackluster academic performance, Sig really wasn't a bad student at all. He was _trying_ , that much was clear... all that he needed was patience.

"It's fine. We still have time to get your grade back up. Just... _please_ try and study harder for next time, alright?"

 _'Please'_ was not a standard part of Klug's vocabulary, but it was a word he found himself using more and more often with Sig under his tutelage.

The blue boy's face brightened ever so slightly, and he gave an eager nod.

"'Kay."

And so they kept at it. Even if their progress wasn't immediately evident, Klug remembered that he had to be patient. Results would come in time, even if they didn't come right away.

Klug had successfully tutored many of his classmates before, but for this one special case, he decided to try a different, more experimental approach; in addition to their normal lessons, he began setting aside small chunks of time for them to take breaks from studying and share in simple leisure activities together. He decided on this primarily because he honestly couldn't handle trying to slog through lessons with Sig for five hours straight, but also because he reasoned that perhaps, if he could get to know his mentee a bit better and understand his thinking, he could accommodate their lessons accordingly.

So they spent this leisure time sharing in each of their favorite hobbies. Klug used the time to share with Sig the massive collection of novels, magical texts and other assorted literature that he read for pleasure, thinking that maybe (hopefully) it would encourage his spacey classmate to get into the habit of reading for fun himself. He tried introducing Sig to the books he'd read over and over as a little kid, reading to him from various magic tomes and novels and texts written by his idols, the legendary sages. He could still recall each of them by name: Nero, Severio, Isabella, Dalida, Galatea...

"Mmmm... Nope. I've never heard of any of these guys."

"Are you _serious_? The sages are some of the most legendary, world-renowned magicians of all time! No self-respecting mage can say they've never heard of them!"

"Oh... I guess I'm not a self-expecting mage, then. Sorry..."

Ignoring the incorrect vocabulary, Klug continued to chastise and press Sig for a good while, trying to get him interested in the literature, but all that he ultimately got in response was a noncommittal shrug.

That was a response he got very frequently... Unlike most of the people who lived in this town, Sig just wasn't a vocal or outwardly emotional person. Frustrating as it was, Klug had to gradually learn to accept that he wouldn't always get a proper answer out of him, and that many of their discussions would be extremely one-sided.

It was when they spent their time doing what Sig liked to do that more of his true character really came to light, and that was when Klug made sure to pay extra special attention.

"Lookit this one, Glasses... Isn't she super pretty?"

Sig held a giant pink moth in his left hand, stroking it affectionately with his right as he held it out for Klug to see and touch.

"Sig, do you know what kind of moth this is?" Klug asked, poking at it absent-mindedly.

A silent head shake was Sig's response.

"Do you even know if it's male or female?"

Another head shake. For as much as the boy loved his bugs, Sig knew surprisingly little about most of them. Normally, this would have annoyed Klug and spurred him into a lecture about properly researching the things that you put so much focus into... but in this case, he found himself calmer and more accepting.

"I think I have a book on moths somewhere... Come on, bring her along and let's look it up."

All in all, their sessions became much more peaceful and much less headache-inducing after he put this new method into practice. Over time, he began to not only tolerate the lessons, but actively look forward to and enjoy them. Sometimes, he began to wonder if he might be enjoying them a little _too_ much...

He wasn't sure why he was doing all this. He'd never given anyone else such special treatment. He wondered if it really was only for the sake of Sig's education, or if there was some other ulterior motive behind it, one that he himself didn't understand yet.

...

He wasn't the only one who'd grown aware of it. Everyone at school was starting to notice how much time the two of them had been spending together recently, and a particular few didn't hesitate to comment on it.

"Well now, I thought you said you hated talking to stupid people... I guess you're softer than you make yourself out to be, hm?"

"Y... you always look like you're having lots of fun tutoring Mr. Sig... I'm happy for you..."

His classmates always made tiny remarks about how close the two of them seemed to be, which, for some reason, drove him _up the wall_.

"Wow, Klug! You and Sig have been getting along real well lately! That's totally _wicked_ , cause for a while I kinda thought you didn't like being his tutor! Did something cool happen with your lessons?"

Klug hid himself from Amitie's curious, prying eyes, burying his nose in his book to hide his fogged-up glasses and rapidly flushing face.

"... Nothing happened. He's my pupil, and I'm treating him like any decent tutor should. That's all there is to it."

"Saying it like that just makes it even _more_ suspicious! C'mooon, what happened?"

Amitie wouldn't relent, moving closer and closer into his personal bubble until she abruptly backed up, letting out a loud, dramatic gasp.

"No way... could it be? Are you... are you two...!?"

She moved right back into his space, putting her head right by his ear and speaking in a hushed, excited whisper.

"... A-Are you guys... _the L-word_?"

That was the last straw. Klug slammed his book shut, grabbed his things, and marched indignantly out the classroom door, right past Sig who had just walked in and was now staring after him with a mystified expression.

He'd just spend his time in the library before class, at least until this whole stupid rumor blew over.

Because that was all it was. A _stupid rumor_.

...

But as time went on, he himself found that harder and harder to believe.

He felt it every day, every morning he woke up and his very first thought was about what he and Sig would learn that day. He felt it every time he looked at the boy's dopey face and his heart started beating faster than a jackrabbit. He felt it every time a group assignment was announced in class and his hand reflexively shot up with Sig's name already on his lips.

Klug may be stubborn, but he definitely wasn't stupid. He knew what this feeling was, and trying to deny it anymore would get him nowhere. The only problem now was that he had no idea what he was going to do with it.

So he didn't do anything.

He ignored the feeling. He suppressed it. He pretended it didn't exist, hoping that perhaps if he went on pretending long enough, it would actually cease to exist altogether.

He started pushing Sig away, too, both physically and emotionally. He made certain that they were always at least an arm's length apart, he refused to discuss anything with Sig other than the lessons or the study materials, and he made a point to never, ever smile at him.

It pained him to see the little looks of confusion and hurt that Sig gave him. He knew that this wasn't fair to the demon boy, who'd done absolutely nothing to deserve it. But he also knew that this was something he had to do for both of their sakes.

He was new to this feeling himself, but he'd seen enough and read enough to know how these things turned out. It would be nothing but a detriment to him and to Sig, and he didn't need it. He didn't _want_ it.

But no matter what he did, it stayed with him.

He still wrote about Sig in his journal occasionally. His journal was the one respite where he thought he would be completely safe. He tried to keep his mind clear and his writing as professional and detached as possible... but despite all of his efforts, the persistent feeling found a way to manifest itself even on paper.

_「*His favorite species of insects seem to be coccinellids, more commonly known as ladybugs. I should try and find a way to attract more of them to the garden so that I can observe and analyze his reaction.」_

_「*Though he wears long-sleeved jackets, he never wears heavy clothing even in the winter. When I touch him, his body is always colder than mine, but his left hand is always warm. I wonder if it has something to do with his strange power... I want to observe this curious phenomenon more closely.」_

_*It has recently begun to bother me how little emotion he displays outwardly... I'm unsure if it's simply a part of his personality or if his demon heritage might be to blame. But just once, I'd like to see if I can coerce him into giving me a genuine smile-」_

The entries ended there. Everything following them was furiously crossed out and riddled with eraser marks.

He stopped writing down any observations about Sig after that.

But their tutoring sessions continued unhindered. If anything, the lessons actually went more smoothly now that they wasted no time on leisurely chatter. Sig seemed a little disheartened at the change in atmosphere, but he never once complained. He simply continued to study as diligently as he could, and although it came slowly, he did begin to show small signs of progress.

They continued like this throughout the semester. Autumn came and went, leading into winter, when the final exams loomed over their heads.

Sig had learned and improved so much since they'd started, and the other students had finally stopped making constant remarks about the two of them. That should have made Klug happy... but it didn't. Instead, he felt more angry and more miserable than ever.

And what angered him the most was that he knew exactly why, but there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.

...

Sig passed his final exams. It was only by a few points, but he still passed them. And that, of course, meant that their tutoring sessions were no longer necessary.

Klug would be lying if he said he didn't feel immensely accomplished and relieved... but underlying that relief was an even stronger feeling of profound emptiness, as though an integral part of his life had suddenly been ripped away from him.

As he was clearing away all of the old worksheets and textbooks they'd used for the past several months, he found his old research journal lying among the clutter. He wasn't sure what, but something compelled him to take a break from cleaning and quickly look through it again for old times' sake... and as he skimmed over everything, he saw an entry at the end that he was certain hadn't been there before.

He knew right away that he wasn't the one who had written it. This appallingly messy handwriting could only belong to one person. Although the frequent spelling mistakes made it a bit of a challenge to decipher, Klug promptly sat down at his desk and looked over every word.

_「hey mr jurnal. I know youre glasseses jurnal and I dunno if Im alowed to reed you or rite in you but I did aneyway. sorry glasses._

_I red the stuff glasses rote about me and it was nise. so I think maybe Ill rite some stuff about glasses too, sinse he sed I gotta practis my hand riting and I think this is a good chanse to do that._

_things about glasses:_

_*hes super super smart. his head can hold alot of smart things in it that mine cant. I think its really admirable ( <\- thats a word glasses taut me)_

_*he likes purpel stuff alot. he wers purpel and he likes it when I bring purpel flowers to his hous so Ill have to pick more for him soon._

_*his name is klug even tho I call him glasses alot. he sed it meens smart and clever so I think its a good name for him._

_*hes meen some times but hes also really nise. he dus nise stuff for me when Im at his hous lerning but also I think maybe he hates me?? I dunno cus he never ansers me when I ask if hes ok, he just gets mad and ses get back to the lessin. I dunno if its cus Im not lerning fast enuf? but watever it is Im sorry about doing it._

_*he likes reeding and I like it when he reeds out loud cus its really nise to lisen to him._

_*even if he hates me I still like him and Im not mad at him for being meen some times. I think hes my favrite teecher Ive ever had. I think he culd maybe be an even better teecher then ms accord witch is saying alot cus ms accord is a super good teecher. and I actshully kinda hope he dusnt hate me cus I like him a hole lot, more then amitie and maybe even more then bugs some times._

_*and he wares glasses. thats why I call him glasses._

_*I ran out of stuff to rite and I think I got enuf practis so Ill stop here._

_-sig_

_p. s glasses if you can reed this then hi. how did I do on my hand riting?」_

... Klug set the journal down on the table. For a while, he couldn't do anything but stare at the open page, holding his hand over his mouth to keep his rapidly overflowing emotions at bay.

"... That... _idiot_..."

The guilt after that was too much for him. Now that the exams were over, he needed to apologize and come clean about what he'd been feeling. Though Sig was slow and a bit irritating at times, he at least deserved that much.

If Sig accepted him, that would be nice enough, and if he didn't, they could both put this ugly business behind them and move on with their lives. Either way, it would be fine. That was what Klug told himself.

There were no insects around in the winter that he could catch and use for a present, so he settled for buying a ladybug-shaped pin from a local jewelry shop. It set him back quite a bit on his allowance, and he didn't even know if Sig would appreciate a fake bug or be offended by it. He still wasn't entirely sure how that boy's mind worked... but he was determined to go through with this somehow or another.

Early in the morning, as the two of them walked to school together for their final class of the year, Klug finally worked up the courage to grab Sig by the shoulder and pull him aside. The blue boy turned to him with that same dumb, dopey, endearing expression that made his heart flutter uncomfortably, and he nearly lost his nerve right there, but he steeled himself and pressed on.

"S-Sig," he began awkwardly, clearing his throat once or twice as he attempted to gather his thoughts. "Listen..."

And listen Sig did, hair tufts perking up and mouth open slightly with curiosity. Klug breathed a small, grateful sigh of relief and continued.

"It's nothing important, it's just... well, now that the semester's over and I'm no longer your tutor, I figure I should... I just feel that, uh... that an _apology_ is in order, I guess... yeah..."

Apologies were another thing with which Klug had very little experience. Though he started out with his usual self-assured tone, that grew harder to keep up the longer Sig stood there looking right at him. But the boy said nothing in response, leaving Klug, as usual, to do almost all of the talking.

"I suppose I treated you... a bit unfairly during the latter half of the semester. It was harsh and unnecessary... and I may have given you the impression that I don't care about your happiness or your well-being, w-which couldn't be _further_ from the truth, mind you... so, uh... I thought I would just... you know..."

He trailed off and cast his eyes down to the ground, fumbling with the package that he'd taken out of his schoolbag and was now hiding behind his back. He gripped it tightly as he attempted to piece together in his head exactly what it was he wanted to say... but for once in his life, words completely failed him. At last, he gave up and let out a loud, frustrated sigh as he thrust the package unceremoniously into Sig's hands.

"Here, just take it! I'm sorry I treated you like crap, alright?"

Sig took the package from him, slightly stunned by his outburst, but still not saying a word. He slowly unwrapped it and looked it over for a moment. Inside was the research journal, along with the ladybug pin which Klug had fastened to the front cover. The blue boy continued to stare at the gift with his usual unreadable expression, which, ironically enough, was more unnerving than anything else.

"Y-yeah, I know it's not a _real_ ladybug," Klug hastily stuttered. "You can't find them in the winter, you know, a-and I saw that pin in the jewelry store window and figured it would be the next best thing, right? I-I mean, it doesn't _fly_ or _move_ or anything, but it's pretty to _look_ at, so I tho-"

He never got to finish, because before he could process anything else, a pair of arms had thrown themselves around him and were now holding him tightly.

Klug could only blink in muted surprise, effectively rendered speechless a second time. Sig used that opportunity to press up closer to him, and he spoke up for the first time that entire morning.

"I'm glad..." he whispered, smiling softly into Klug's coat. "I'm glad you don't hate me."

Klug was still too starstruck to give a proper response, and simply gave him a rigid nod instead. Gradually, though, he found it in him to return the gesture, wrapping his arms slowly and mechanically around his classmate and giving him a few stiff pats on the back. They stood there for a while, locked in that awkward embrace, and Klug figured they would stay like that until Sig decided he'd had enough.

Outward displays of affection were one more thing that Klug was not at all skilled with... but as with everything else, he was sure he'd learn quickly with practice.

Sig finally let go and stepped back, holding out his red left hand for Klug to take. And Klug took it, still a bit stiff from embarrassment, but he slowly relaxed and returned to his usual level of unwarranted self-confidence as they started walking again.

"You know, Sig," he said with a small cough, "The school year may be over, but that doesn't mean you can start neglecting your education. If you want to retain what you've learned this year, you need to stay diligent in your studies. Your _spelling_ and your _handwriting_ in particular still need a _lot_ of work, and I highly recommen-"

"I got it, I got it," Sig cut him off, squeezing his hand with surprising gentleness. "You wanna see me again after school, don'tcha?"

Klug turned his head away and silently adjusted his glasses, his entire face flushing red as he gave Sig's giant hand an equally soft squeeze. Inside, he was mentally punching himself for not spitting out the most important thing he'd wanted to say in the first place. But there was plenty of time for that down the road, he concluded, and he was content with that.

For now, this was definitely a good start.

**Author's Note:**

> aaaaah three years of being in this fandom and shipping this pairing and I Finally write a fic for it! and it's still not as good as I'd like it to be! ;_;
> 
> sorry again for how long this was! I hope it was at least a little enjoyable to read!


End file.
